Urgent help from the English Native speakers--an English question?
Asked by zhang QI am a teacher of English in China. The following test item is taken from China National College Entrance English Examinations, which were held just on June 8th,2006. Engines are to machines ____ hearts are to animals. Which is right, "as" or "what"? Thanks very much for your answer. -------------- Actually, I think the answer should be "as", but the reference answer released officially is "what", and they say “A is to B what C is to D” is a fixed structure in English. And, you know this is an English test item in China College Entrance Exams! So have they made a mistake?
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Answered by O'Fallie
The correct answer is "as". This type of question is called an analogy. Another and more popular example of one is: A glove is to hand as a shoe is to ________ (The answer is foot because the glove covers/protects the hand then the shoe must cover/protect whatever it is referring to.) I hope that made sense to you. If I figure out a better way to explain it let you know.
The correct answer is "as". This type of question is called an analogy. Another and more popular example of one is: A glove is to hand as a shoe is to ________ (The answer is foot because the glove covers/protects the hand then the shoe must cover/protect whatever it is referring to.) I hope that made sense to you. If I figure out a better way to explain it let you know.
